Yousafer stepped out of the house to find five black horses standing before him. He came to a halt beside Yuray, followed by the Chief, who appeared lost in thought.
"Should I trust this boy? But what if he is wrong... what would we do then?" the old man thought, his spirit fractured.
Upon the horses sat seven men. Six of them were glaring at Yuray and Yousafer, while the seventh lay unconscious in front of one of the riders.
The horses possessed large hooves and white saddles striped with black, matching the attire worn by the seven men.
At that moment, the village was crowded with people watching from every direction.
A raspy voice emerged from a massive man with a long black mustache, boasting with an overbearing tone:
"You there!" He pointed his finger toward Yousafer and Yuray: "You are coming with us."
In that instant, the Chief snapped out of his daze as cold droplets of rain began to pelt him. He spoke up: "These are my guests, what business do you have with them?"
The man with the long mustache shot a threatening look at the Chief, his voice laced with cold indifference:
"Keep your mouth shut, you filthy old man. Do you think we are asking for your permission to take them?"
Yousafer stared at them with a cunning smile, then muttered in a low voice toward the Village Chief:
"We will be fine, do not worry. Just do exactly what I told you."
The Chief hesitated for a moment, then asked: "Are you certain?"
"I do not jest about such matters, old man," Yousafer answered with sheer audacity.
One of the men in the front leaned forward and shouted: "What are you two muttering about? Move it, or we will drag you to the factories ourselves. Be obedient."
Yousafer's face contorted for a fleeting second as he stared at the man who spoke with sleepy eyes and a downward-curving mouth. His features carried a hidden disdain for the man's words, though he quickly masked it.
The man noticed the shift in Yousafer's expression and raised an eyebrow, taken aback:
"What are you doing, you brat?"
Yousafer did not answer his question. Instead, he asked one of his own:
"Which way is the path?"
The men exchanged bewildered glances, then erupted into laughter:
"Hahaha! The poor boy thinks we are going on a picnic!"
Mocking laughter echoed among them.
"I do not know what trick you used to capture that fool, but you will pay the price for everything once we arrive."
The men's laughter intensified, contrasting with the scowling faces of the villagers and Helmo.
Helmo clenched his fist:
"Damn it... damn it! I am the cause of this. I'm sorry... I'm sorry for bringing you here."
Even though Helmo had witnessed Yousafer take down that man with ease, the fear that had been bred into the villagers since their childhood outweighed everything else.
Neither Yousafer nor Yuray spoke a word; they simply walked forward, flanked by three horses in the front and two in the rear.
After some time, they vanished from the village, disappearing among the trees that were bowing under the weight of the powerful winds.
At this hour, the forest was consumed by darkness, lit only by the dim glow of two torches carried by two men: one in the front and one at the back.
"Poor souls, where did they come from? Their luck turned sour the moment they entered this forest."
Discussions and questions swirled among the villagers, but a single voice commanded their silence.
The Chief called out to all the villagers, ordering everyone to gather in front of his house.
In the forest, a heavy silence fell after the group had finished their initial mockery of the two youths.
Yousafer and Yuray heard every foul and vile word, but they remained indifferent, for they knew the fate that awaited these men.
One of the three men in the front turned his head and began to jeer:
"Haven't you heard before that there are bandits and revolutionaries in this forest? What brought you here?"
Yousafer did not respond, but his facial features were shifting. It wasn't an expression of anger or psychological distress, but rather one of utter contempt for these fools. No one could see these features because of the darkness.
"Why don't you speak? Has the cat got your tongue?"
"Hahaha..."
Another man laughed loudly:
"They must be trembling with fear; even words won't come out of their mouths!"
"How unfortunate for you... you will never leave this forest. You will never lay eyes on the outside world again. You will work like animals every day, helpless and broken!"
"Heheh," another added mockingly: "Do not worry, we will treat you well."
After nearly an hour of continuous mockery, they arrived before a high wooden fence, two and a half meters tall. There was a large gate that one of them opened, and they stepped inside. A man in his fifties stood before a wooden house, dressed in the same clothes as the others, holding a glass torch in his hand while smiling.
"Are these the ones you went to fetch? They look so young. What a waste, their youth will be squandered in these factories."
"Do you pity us, old man?" Yousafer said, his mouth curling into a smile.
"Hahahaha! This is the first time I see someone in a predicament yet still smiling! Truly, you have no idea what awaits you."
The man laughed loudly, and with a sudden gust of wind, a leaf flew into his throat.
"Cough... cough..."
The man choked and began to cough violently.
"Cough.. cough.."
"What is the matter, old man?" Yousafer mocked. "Are you in a predicament?"
After a brief period of intense coughing, the leaf finally emerged and fell, drenched in spit.
The man glared at Yousafer with murderous eyes:
"Was it you who did that?"
Yousafer questioned with feigned confusion:
"Do you think it was I who ordered that thing into your throat? Do you think I can control objects?" he scoffed, then added:
"What a shame... I wish I possessed such a power."
"What are you saying, you bastard?!" Rage surfaced on the man's face as he clutched his throat, gasping for air.
Yousafer turned his head as if he couldn't care less.
"You!" the man hissed through gritted teeth.
"Hey, stop," the man with the mustache called out. "The Leader is waiting for us. Let's move."
Everyone dismounted their horses. Two men carried the unconscious individual and told the gatekeeper:
"Take care of this wretch until he wakes up."
The gatekeeper nodded in agreement, but his gaze remained fixed on Yousafer.
The rest continued their path, as the factories were nearby, visible from where they stood.
After they had walked for a while, Yousafer stopped, placed his hand on his chin, and began to reflect.
"There is a strange scent in this place."
Yuray broke the long silence and said:
"This is no ordinary scent."
The men stopped, staring at the two of them as they spoke:
"What is it? Why have you stopped?"
One of them reached out his hand to push Yousafer from behind, but before the man's hand could reach him—
*Squelch!*
Blood sprayed into the air, carried by the force of the wind, painting everyone in crimson stains.
An arm flew into the air and then fell to the ground, its fingers still twitching.
The man looked at his severed arm, understanding nothing, until a horrific scream erupted from him.
"Aaaaaagh!"
His hand had been torn from the shoulder. The man nearly collapsed, screaming, when blood sprayed once more—this time drenching everyone's faces.
Blood gushed from a neck like a water tap, for the head was no longer in its place.
It soared high and then fell, rolling until it collided with one of the men's feet.
The five remaining men stood paralyzed, horror etched in their eyes. What they saw terrified them and froze the blood in their veins.
They retreated slightly.
A long white bone, twisting like a serpent, emerged from Yuray's wrist. The tip of the bone was razor-sharp.
Their faces paled, and a chill snaked down their spines.
What is this...?
One of them, his legs failing him, fell to the ground, trembling.
In all their lives in this forest, they had never witnessed such horror.
A silence fell, followed by a powerful gust of wind. The rain that had hesitated to fall earlier finally began to pour, as if to bear witness to what was about to happen.
A trembling voice came from the man with the mustache:
"W-who... who are you?" He repeated it twice.
The man whose legs had failed him lost his mind as he stared at the head before him. Dead eyes stared back at him. He opened his mouth to scream, but a bone pierced through his mouth and exited through the back of his head.
Everyone's faces turned ashen. Their hearts began to race. The blood in their veins felt like a rushing waterfall.
*Thump... Thump...*
The rest fell to their knees. They knew there was no escape. A single name whispered through all their minds—a name that held immense weight in this world:
"Possessed..."
"Fear..."
"What is a Possessed doing in this forest...?"
One of them managed to ask, but his answer was a bone piercing through his chest from the side of his heart. A large amount of blood erupted from his mouth. His eyes caught Yuray's face, which carried not a single trace of emotion, his eyes closed. Then, he fell dead.
"Fear..."
The terror of the remaining men grew, and they began to apologize for the mockery they had spat on the road.
But Yuray murmured words that were barely audible:
"Do you think I would care about the mockery of insects like you? You can mock me whenever you wish, would I care?"
But before he could finish his sentence, the bone swept horizontally with lightning speed, severing what remained of the heads.
"There is no need for you to hear any more."
Yousafer looked in his direction:
— "You fool... you didn't leave anyone for me."
"Fear..."
A smile appeared on Yuray's face:
— "There are more inside. You can kill as many as you want."
Yousafer sighed quietly as raindrops trickled between his eyes: "Fine. I will head toward the factory on the right, and you take the one to the north."
From the outside, the factories appeared somewhat small, colored in silver and gray, with two floors and many barred windows, topped by two large chimneys.
At night, the factories were quiet. No one heard what had happened outside because the sound of the wind refused to carry the screams into the buildings. Most of the supervisors were preparing for sleep at this hour.
In a room filled with screens, the man was still waiting for the group he had sent after Yousafer and Yuray.
A scowl settled on the man's face:
"Those bastards... why are they so late? It's not like there is anything for them to do in this night... They have kept me waiting here like an idiot. They will pay for this... let them come first."
"Fear..."
The man was devoid of anything called patience. Suddenly, he began to clutch his heart, gasping for air.
"What is happening...? Why is my heart racing...?"
*Gasp... gasp... gasp...*
Even breathing became difficult.
The man stood up, holding his chest, and moved to exit the room.
He left his room and began to walk with heavy, sluggish steps, still clutching his chest.
"Thump... Thump... Thump..."
His heart would not stop its frantic pace.
The hallway he walked through had many rooms on both sides, and on every door was an engraving of a faded tree, not fully visible.
The man turned slightly and saw a staircase leading upward. He began to climb it.
—
Meanwhile, two people were in a room with two yellow beds covered in black spots like stars, preparing for sleep.
One of them spoke while looking toward a small window high in the room as he lay on his bed:
"Did you hear a scream just a moment ago?"
The other replied while straightening his bedsheet:
"What scream are you talking about? Didn't you see the powerful winds outside? And the rain has started to fall... you must have heard the sound of the wind."
The man's eyes lingered on the window as he muttered to himself:
"I am certain I heard a scream..."
"Fear..."
The other person heard his muttering:
"It seems sleep is starting to affect you. Come on, shut up and let's sleep... we have a lot of work tomorrow."
The man lay on his bed and pulled the cover over his head after turning off the light.
As soon as the light was extinguished:
*Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Four knocks were heard on the door of the room.
"Who is the bastard knocking at this hour?"
He threw the cover off and turned on the light, rage boiling in his expression.
As for the other person, he didn't care who was knocking; he remained lying down and turned his face toward the wall.
The man opened the door, then said angrily:
"Who the—"
The man did not finish his sentence, for what he found before the door was enough to make one's skin crawl. Blood began to seep in until it reached the feet of the person who opened the door. It was blood mixed with a viscous black substance.
The figure standing before the man was terrifying:
Eyes like a frog's stared at the man. A face covered in pustules secreting a sticky black substance. A mouth with saw-like teeth filled with blood, and between those teeth was the eye of another person who had been killed by the beast. The beast had no nose, and in its hand, it held half a head with the victim's brain protruding from it.
The beast's body had its stomach at the top and its chest at the bottom near its torso, with pale white-green skin. Bony hands, and from the top of its left shoulder, a strange bone protruded. As for its hair, it consisted of white tree branches.
Beside its face, a white bone twisted like a snake, coming from the base of its spine, its tip razor-sharp.
"Fear..."
End of Chapter